Vietnam Day 26: Cooking up a Storm!

One of our top experiences of the entire trip came on our second last day. We signed up for a cooking class at Charming Homestay, and it did not disappoint!

We were greeted by our lovely host, Nhi, and her assistant Ha, at Nhi's home. Ha took us straight out to the local market to show us around and buy the food we'd need to prepare our meal. 

Vietnamese markets are so colourful and fresh. The meat is all butchered daily, and there are so many fruits and vegetables that we can't find at home. Beth, in particular, loved learning all their names, and we did some sampling as well. 

Two different beans slow cooked.
They add coconut and condensed milk
to make a sweet treat!

Such a cool tool: 
A peeler that
juliennes veggies!

When we got back to Nhi's place, she led us through all the steps for preparing a feast! We made mango salad with sautéed beef, fried spring rolls (banana and shrimp or ground pork and veggies), and the famous Vietnamese chicken with lemongrass and chili. Nhi was so organized and clearly used to managing a group like ours in her home kitchen. She was also extremely careful about allergens for Erin - a great place for a cooking class if you're celiac. 

Rolling her own shrimp and banana
spring rolls!

Rolling gluten-free ground pork spring rolls!

Another cool tool: onion shaver

Sauteeing with long chopsticks

Hot, Tired, and Hungry!

The kids were right in there making their own dishes, including chopping the raw meet, sauteeing lemongrass, and using the long chopsticks to turn their spring rolls. We were all so impressed!

Grinding up the peanuts for the salad

Of course, the end was the best part! It was DELICIOUS!!! 

It was such a fun experience and we came away with such a great skill, a set of recipes, and an amazing Vietnamese memory!